Allentown teachers fret over possible layoffs

School board approved staffing audit to see if cuts are needed as part of 2013-14 budget.

January 25, 2013|By Steve Esack, Of The Morning Call

The Allentown School Board approved a preliminary proposed budget that could lead to layoffs because the board also voted to allow Superintendent Russ Mayo to audit staffing needs.

And teachers were not happy.

Union president Debbie Tretter told the board on Thursday teachers should not have to worry about their jobs a year after they signed a three-year contract in January 2012 that froze salaries this year and other concessions.

Before the administration looks to trim teachers, Tretter said, it needs take a close look at the administrative positions that were created when the board accepted federal school improvement grants under former Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak. Most of those three-year grants expire at the end of the school year, Tretter said.

"The board may not realize it, but for every professional moved into a temporary [grant] position, a substitute has been hired to fill his or her vacated position, at great expense to the district in salaries and benefits," Tretter said.

Director Scott Armstrong said all departments could feel the cuts and he told staff "to look in the mirror" if they wanted to blame anyone for the cuts.

He said he voted against the teachers contract (which includes pay raises of about 2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, in the second and third year) because the school district cannot afford the guaranteed pensions in it.

The $248 million draft budget passed 8-0 and the staffing study 7-1 with one absence. Director Ce-Ce Gerlach said she opposed the study because it could possibly take away more teachers from students.

Director Ellen Bishop asked Superintendent Russ Mayo if the study will also include consequences of cutting staff, such as increased class sizes.

Yes, Mayo said, the pros and cons would be factored into the study.

But he said the district will have a better handle on its budget and staffing projections once Gov. Tom Corbett releases his proposed spending plan on Feb. 5.

The budget calls for level funding form the state and a 29 percent reduction in federal grants, which fund a lot of salaries and benefits of teachers and administrators.

A piece of the federal loss is $2.6 million in controversial school improvement grants, which required the district to remove principals from four schools. Those principals were put into other central administrative jobs. Three of them have since left and work as principals in other districts.

Tretter urged the board to cut grant-funded positions before regular teachers because reading and math scores continue to decline in the six schools that received the grants.

"We ask that you not to furlough teachers to keep [grant] programs in place, in the hope that a miracle will occur at the end of this year," she said.

At last week's board Finance Committee meeting last week, Mayo had said the district will not just cut staff or programs because the grant money that funds them goes away. He said the district will evaluate which programs work and which don't, and use money from failed programs to fund successful initiatives.

But it might not be that easy. The administration has to consider seniority rights of employees when implementing layoffs. Allen High student Jonah Adamcik urged the district to work together when considering cuts. He said students have suffered when the district has moved around teachers after recent budget cuts.

Taxpayers would also be hit by the budget's impact. It calls for the millage rate to go up 9 percent or 1.5 mills to 18.1 mills. That equates to a tax hike of about $210 for a home assessed at full market value of $150,000.